“Made in China” are words that we have seen on products over and over for years. Most of us do not know what it takes in China to produce these products. I learned first hand the story behind just one of the thousand of factories in China.
Early this summer I was teaching a seminar on public relations to a group of CEOs who owned companies in Utah. Brad Brown was one of the participants in the program. I shared with the class that I was soon leaving for China. Brad then told me that he owned a factory in China and invited me to visit his factory. What an opportunity it was for me to really see what “Made in China” means.
I went immediately home excited about this new possibility. I got out the map of China and learned that the very city that was to fly into was near Brad’s factory. Canton, the city that I was flying into is a huge city of 25 million right in the middle of many of the factories that produce so many of the goods for the world. Brad offered to have his driver pick me up with a translator so that I could understand what I was to learn from my experience.
Like most Americans, I only know that China produces a lot of the goods that we consume and occasionally when some thing goes wrong, I hear the publicity that goes with that.
I was soon to learn that ATL Technology, Brad Brown’s company, offers custom connector systems, custom interconnect assemblies and turn key manufacturing solutions. The factory is located in Dong Guang near Hong Kong. They have been offering high quality, cost efficient power cabling solutions for over 15 years. Brad Brown was one of the original owners and now owns and directs the company from his Springville, Utah office where his sales team is located. They sell their product all over the world.
Brad’s factory in China consists of three big buildings. The first is the manufactoring plant where the products are produced. It is a large three-story building.
ATL Technology Factory building
The second building is another big building right next to the factory. It is a dorm that houses the workers that come from all over China to produce the products. Most of the workers range in age of 18 to 35 years old. They are mainly women, as they are more adept and faster at doing the work needed to produce the electronic connectors. Several workers share a room. On the main floor is located the cafeteria where they enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner provided by the company.
Dormitory
Instead of a parking lot filled with cars, one finds bike racks filled with bikes that many of the workers use to ride to work as they live locally. Riding a bike in China is the main mode of transportation for most of the Chinese people. It has been said that China is the bike capital for the world.
Many workers ride their bikes to work.
When you enter inside the factory, you will have to wear a special covering over you clothes and shoes. The factory is extremely clean and is very organized and run extremely efficiently. As you look down the many isles you will see people working very hard to product excellent products.
Factory Photo
Factory lines are organized according to the type of product that is being produced. One line may be producing Ethernet cables, while another is producing connectors for medical testing instruments.
Assembly line at factory.
It was amazing to watch the workers take a cable with several dozen small color wires and solder each one in the right place so that when it reaches the end user they have a good connection. At one station, the cable had over 100 small wires to get in the right connection.
Soldering cable
Once the cables have been soldered and tested, they are put into custom packaging and then check once more to make sure the product produced is the best possible.
Final package Check
This type of work can be very tedious. Breaks are given to the works twice a day, and they have a break and lunch with a short rest time at noon. I was amazed at the amount of food they consumed, especially rice. I even asked a couple of workers how they could eat so much rice.
It takes a lot of energy to work in the factory.
As Brad shared with me the history and special information about the plant, he told me of his cook that had worked for him for 10 years.
She was one of the first people that I met at the factory. She goes to the market every morning to get the produce fresh everyday. She usually rides her bike to the market but because I was there they had one of the company drivers take us to the market. Season, which is her name, was an expert at selecting the best produce for the delicious meals she cooks everyday.
Season buying vegetables
The variety at the market was unbelievable. Many of the products I had never seen before. She did her best to give me a quick lesson in Chinese.
Dian and Season at the market
When we returned back to the factory, she and I spent a good part of the day in the kitchen. She is a master at producing delicious meals on a simple two-burner stove. This is very typical of what you find in Chinese homes. Most of them only have 1 wok and 1 pan to boil soups in but, boy, can they produce delicious food.
Simple stove in Kitchen
After much cleaning, chopping and stirring, the food was attractively displayed ready for the managers of the factory to come and eat.
Food for managers who eat together.
Thank you Brad Brown for having the courage to go to another country and learning all that it takes to have a factory. What a delight it was for me to have the opportunity so learn more about what it means when I read “Made in China."
Dian Thomas is the author of “How to Get a Million Dollar of Free Publicity”. She teaches one day seminar to people who want to learn to promote themselves, their company though free publicity. Her next one day seminar will be in Salt Lake City on Feb 17, 2010. If you have any question go to MillionDollarPr.com. You can also write Dian at contact@dianthomas.com.
